


are you chocolate? ('cause you taste sweet on my tongue)

by icyhotexplosions



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Chocolate, Fluff, I take it back, Idiots in Love, Lio might be a bigger idiot, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, dumb gays, galo is an idiot, happy valentines day?, highkey horny energy, lio can't do this anymore, lowkey horny energy, please take this i dont know, promare ot4 agenda going strong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22723336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icyhotexplosions/pseuds/icyhotexplosions
Summary: Lio Fotia receives a gift basket, rediscovers chocolate, and wonders if being gay for your bro is a side-effect of sleep deprivation.
Relationships: Established Lio Fotia/Gueira/Meis, Implied Future Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos/Gueira/Meis, Implied Lio Fotia/Gueira/Meis, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 16
Kudos: 123





	are you chocolate? ('cause you taste sweet on my tongue)

**Author's Note:**

> hello, thank you very much for clicking on this, happy valentine's day and i hope you enjoy!

Lio Fotia is tired. It’s a good kind of tired, he reasons, the kind that comes from working hard everyday on something that matters and something that will pay off. It might be a little tedious, but thousands of ex-Burnish would benefit from this, and it’s necessary and important and it had to be done— but Lio Fotia is tired. Words are blurring together and he feels the beginning of a headache coming on and he’s about to take a break when the door bursts open and bright blue enters his vision. 

“Look, Lio! You got a gift basket! I love these things!” 

There’s the sound of plastic being torn apart and Lio blinks in his chair, trying to make sense of the scene unfolding before him. _Hello, Galo, yes, I see this is a gift basket. I wanted to check if it was a threat or not but go ahead, I guess ripping it apart is also a way to assess danger._

Lio keeps his facetious thoughts to himself, because Galo being excited over a gift basket is endearing (endearing like Meis’s hair in his favorite flower-patterned scrunchie or Gueira’s sleepy, grumpy scowl in the morning even as he clings to body warmth but Lio doesn’t think too deeply about those comparisons). He’s been having strange thoughts every time he sees Galo these days and they mostly revolved around somehow finding him… cute. Maybe Meis and Gueira were right and he’s sleep deprived. 

Galo doesn’t notice Lio’s internal speculation about gift baskets and signs of fatigue and takes out a thin rectangular item in blue and gold wrapping, eyes going big. “Oh my god! This is like the world’s best chocolate! And it’s milk chocolate! The best kind! This person really loves you Lio!”

Lio opens his mouth to point out the possible dangers of eating anonymously-gifted food, but Galo has already opened the packaging and broken off a piece of the rectangle, offering it to him. He blinks at the brown square, and looks up at Galo, who is staring at the chocolate like it’s a new upgrade to Matoi Tech. Lio can practically see the drool on his mouth. _Cute._

Lio shakes his head to clear the offending thought and instead focuses on his initial concern. “What if it’s poisoned? We can’t just accept whatever’s dropped off at the doorstep.” 

Galo tries to inconspicuously wipe the drool off his face as he drags his eyes away from the chocolate. “No, it’s ok, Lucia built something that checks if there’s anything weird in our mail. So this chocolate is 100% fuel for our burning firefighter souls!” 

Of course Lucia built something like that. Lio would have thought of it, but he must be more tired than he thought. Galo’s enthusiasm has Lio smiling back a little though, finally giving in. “You should have it then. You clearly love chocolate.” 

Lio always associated chocolate with wide, hopeful eyes and barely suppressed squeals of excitement from kids who were too young, young enough that the first hint of sweetness was enough for them to forget they were hungry this morning or that Freeze Force was still following them. It was a luxury, hard to find and too dangerous for something that wasn’t even a meal, but there was something about the way everyone’s eyes got just a little brighter watching the kids run around, laughing from a sugar rush, that made it worth it. It somehow makes perfect sense that Galo loves it too. Not that he’s a child— but the way Galo’s very presence is enough for Lio to start smiling after a rough day reminds him of the effect the sugar-high kids had. 

Galo frowns, and the expression startles Lio back to the conversation to hear his protests. “What? No! This is your gift basket so you have to eat it!” 

Lio furrows his eyebrows, about to argue, when Galo continues, eyes downcast. “Besides… I’m not allowed to have chocolate… The Captain says I can only have it once a month when I’m not at the station.”

If Lio was less exhausted, he would have realized there’s a story there; unfortunately, most of his logical reasoning has shut down and he is hyper-focused on the look on Galo’s face. _A kicked puppy_ , Lio thinks in a voice that sounds remarkably like Meis, and it feels wrong for Galo to not be the human equivalent of the sun at all times: bright and burning energy. Lio had to fix this. “Well, have you had your chocolate for the month yet?”

When Galo shakes his head, Lio raises an eyebrow. “I don’t see the problem then. It’s my chocolate and I can do whatever I want with it. And I want to give it to you. Eat some before you start drooling again, idiot.” 

That does the trick. Galo is grinning again, eyes shining, and something loosens in Lio’s chest. “Are you sure? Are you sure? We’re still at the station though…”

Lio rolls his eyes. “Just eat the chocolate, Galo.”

Galo is finally convinced, and pops the chocolate square in his mouth, which is slightly melted after being between Galo’s burning fingers for a bit too long. Galo’s eyes flutter close as he savors the flavor, and then he starts making _absolutely indecent_ noises as he lifts each finger to his mouth to lick the remnants of the melted chocolate away.

Lio is staring. Lio should look away now ( _away from that tongue curling around his index finger to catch that last bit of chocolate— wait, not there— yes, there you go)_ , before Galo opens his eyes again and makes eye contact with him and catches whatever expression is on his face right now. Definitely not an expression that should be seen by the general public, much less Galo. Or it could be seen by Galo, but not while they’re in a place that’s easily accessible by the general public, or the rest of Burning Rescue in this case. Or maybe it could be while they’re in a place easily accessible by the general public, but they’d have to discuss it first, with Meis and Gueira too, and they aren’t even— 

Galo opens his eyes and Lio wipes his expression clean back to Resting Boss Face as Meis and Gueira dubbed it. Galo has a dopey grin on his face, face tinged slightly pink and a look of euphoria in his eyes. _Why does he look like that after eating a single fucking piece of chocolate?_

“That was awesome. You have to try some, this is the most amazing thing you’ll ever eat.” Galo breaks off another square and offers it to Lio. Lio ignores the urge to eat it directly off his fingers, and wills himself to stay decent ( _just because Galo’s an idiot who fucking moans while eating chocolate doesn’t mean he should be too_ ). He plucks the piece from Galo’s fingers instead, ignoring the way he can feel his (burning soul’s) warmth even through leather gloves. He hesitates for a moment before delicately taking a bite. 

The last time Lio had chocolate was before he was Burnish. It wasn’t a rectangle, but a sphere, wrapped in gold foil. He remembered there were bumps on the outside, nuts (peanuts? almonds? He couldn’t recall), and when he bit into it, there was a crunch and the inside was creamy and there must have been a trace of it left on his lips, because there was laughter (fond? He hopes, wishes), before soft, pink fabric wiped his mouth clean. He knows the fabric smelled like flowers, but he doesn’t remember what flower, and maybe it was a delicate scent or maybe a stronger, cloying scent, but he can’t remember that either. He used to remember the face the fabric belonged to (soft, feminine, but not the color of her eyes), the fingers that were so gentle with him, but he’s long forgotten that after nights of forcing himself to, nights he spent alone, knowing he should be cold from the desert wind but warm from the flames inside him.

He doesn’t know if this chocolate tastes the same as the one had so long ago, but then he realizes it doesn’t matter, because he has just reached a level of enlightenment he didn’t realize existed. The taste doesn’t explode in his mouth like Gueira’s favorite sour candy. It’s rich, decadent even, and it slowly melts against his tongue. This one doesn’t have nuts in it, and it’s all milky smooth and sweet, and he swallows and the tiny bite isn’t enough, he wants more— 

He doesn’t know when he closed his eyes, but when he opens them, Galo is staring at him with an odd look on his face. _Did I moan?_ Lio calmly rewinds the last several moments in his head and confirms that he did not, in fact, let any sounds escape while he was enjoying what is humanity’s greatest work. Not that it would matter because clearly his reaction was warranted as this is the best thing he's tasted in years. 

Lio internally shrugs it off because there are more important things at hand, like the rest of the godly creation. He places the rest of the chocolate in his mouth, and swipes his tongue over his lips to catch any last bits and the taste is somehow even better than the first time, with a sweetness that’s just right, and it’s just so creamy and so good and he can physically feel his exhaustion melt away and why didn’t he try this sooner, why wasn’t this the first thing he had after he was free, why didn’t anyone tell him— 

Lio inhales, coming back to his senses as he swallows the last of the delicacy. Galo’s face still looks a bit odd, but when he notices Lio looking at him, his expression shifts to amusement and says, “Looks like you liked it, huh? I told you, this really is the good stuff!”

Lio shrugs. “I haven’t had chocolate in years, so I don’t know if this is the good stuff or not, but I’ll take your word for it.” 

Galo’s eyes bug out. “Haven’t had chocolate in years? How have you survived all this time! Chocolate is what fuels my burning soul!” 

Lio wants to say that he thought Matois are what fuel Galo’s burning soul, but he remembers Galo said the same thing about the margherita pizza they had last week so maybe it’s food and Matois that fuel Galo’s burning soul. And also, Galo has a point. If Lio remembered that chocolate tasted this good, he… he wouldn’t have had it while they were on the run because the more that was left for the kids, the better, but at least he would have understood why they loved it so much. 

Galo is still going on about the merits of chocolate and how his fire-powered soul also actually runs on chocolate and whatnot, and Lio would love to decipher the physics of Galo’s soul at any other moment, but right now Galo is still holding onto the bar of chocolate and that isn’t ok because Lio needs more right now. He holds his hand out, gesturing for Galo to hand over the fuel for burning firefighters. 

Galo pauses. “Oh. Yes. Of course! It’s yours, so you should have it!” He places the bar in Lio’s hand, as if it took all of the strength of his body to do so (which isn’t true because Galo is much stronger than he looks and he looks _massive and ripped_ — not that Lio stares at Galo’s body and knows anything about how strong he is because he doesn’t). Lio stops thinking about not-Galo’s body and looks at Galo’s face. Oh no. The kicked puppy look is back. 

Lio sighs, taking the chocolate bar back, ignoring the way Galo’s lips are downturned— _is that a pout? It’s a fucking pout how cute could this guy get—_ and the way he’s wringing his hands as if they’ve suddenly become useless now that the chocolate is no longer occupying them. Lio snaps the rectangle in half, and the sound has Galo looking up to meet Lio’s gaze. 

“What—”

“Here. Now stop making that face.” Lio gives Galo one of the pieces he just split the bar into (and if he split a little unevenly and gives Galo the larger half, it’s just an accident, alright?). He feels like he's facilitating two kids make up after a fight over food, except he's one of the kids. 

Galo looks confused. “But this is your chocolate— “

Lio rolls his eyes. He's been doing that a lot around Galo. “Yeah, and what did I say? I can do whatever I want with my chocolate and I’m giving it to you. So take it.”

Galo frowns. _This stubborn idiot,_ Lio thinks not-fondly. “I can’t do that! You already gave me a piece and you rightfully earned this gift basket and it would be against the Burning Rescue’s code of honor to take someone else’s hard-earned reward—” 

“Galo.” Lio interrupts him, voice low and sweet, and Galo’s mouth closes with an audible click of his teeth. “I want to give this to you. Why won’t you accept it? Oh!” His lips shape into a perfect little “o”, as if he finally understands. “Is it because you hate me?” 

Galo gapes at him and Lio feels much too impressed with himself for making the Great Galo Thymos speechless. It takes a moment for Galo to snap back to his senses. “Of course not! I could never hate you! You’re the other half of Galo de Lion, of Lio de Galon! How could I hate you! You’re my— my friend!” Galo snatches the (little more than) half that Lio is presenting. “I’ll take this, so you have to keep the rest!”

Lio blinks, startled from the passionate response to what was entirely a joke, and tries to will away the heat that threatens his cheeks. He can’t stop the light flutter in his chest though, and he coughs, trying to ignore the sensation. The sad pout on Galo’s face is now an angry pout— _still just as fucking cute—_ as Galo watches Lio for any signs that he would give up yet more chocolate.

"Thanks, Galo. For the record, I don’t hate you either.” Lio smiles up at Galo, and the angry pout disappears, his cheeks slowly reddening instead. 

“Right. Um. That’s great! Our friendship could rival the bond of the firefighters in East Japan, whose flaming souls made them burn stronger for each other! See!” Galo takes three bites of the chocolate and it’s gone, an impressive feat, but nothing compared to seeing Galo eat a whole pizza in approximately the same number of bites. He stares at Lio triumphantly. “See!” He repeats. 

Lio does not see anything but the smudge of chocolate on the corner of Galo’s lips. He stands up and steps closer to Galo to reach easier, and wipes off the residue with his thumb. He can’t find anything to wipe his glove off on, so he licks the trace of chocolate clean. Chocolate and leather doesn’t taste as bad as he expects. Maybe chocolate just tasted good with everything. 

He looks at Galo, who has the same odd expression from before (dumbstruck? intense? Lio can’t pin it down), with cheeks a darker red. Maybe it’s too warm in the room? Lio responds, finally able to think clearly without the offending chocolate distracting him. “Yes, I see. Very nice. I guess I’ll keep the rest of my chocolate then.” 

Galo seems to startle out of a trance and takes a step back, bumping into a chair. “Oh! Yeah! Great! Awesome! I’m going to leave and, uh, work on paperwork! Lucia wanted me to test out, um, new gear! Captain wanted to see me! So I’m gonna go now!” 

He starts backpedaling in the direction of the door, shooting finger guns at Lio, who doesn’t know what the protocol with finger guns is so he starts shooting back. He can’t just take being shot at without putting up a fight. Galo proceeds to knock over three more chairs and bumps into the door before he decides to turn around and leave. 

The door closes and Lio stares at the aftermath of the whirlwind that is Galo Thymos. Lio frowns as he remembers Galo’s parting words. He didn’t realize Galo was so busy today; he hopes he didn’t take too much of his time. As much as Lio enjoys spending time with Galo, he wouldn’t want to intervene with his work as a Burning Rescue member. He moves to pick up the chairs when the door opens again. Blue spiked hair and matching eyes peek through. 

“Thanks for the chocolate!” Galo’s usual wide grin is back, but his face is still a little pink. Lio wonders if Galo is coming down with a cold. _Idiots don’t catch colds,_ Gueira’s voice echoes in his head and he smiles. 

“Yeah. Now go. Aren’t you busy?” Lio makes a shooing gesture, and Galo grins even wider somehow. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going! See you later, Lio!”

Lio waves a hand goodbye and the door closes again. He waits until he can’t hear footsteps outside the door anymore and takes a couple steps before collapsing in his chair, a deep sigh escaping him. He breaks off another chocolate square and places it in his mouth, memorizing the way it slowly falls apart from the heat of his tongue. He leans his head back and stares at the ceiling helplessly as he finally allows his thoughts to run free. 

_Galo is so cute what the fuck._

And also: _This is getting out of hand, Gueira and Meis aren’t going to shut up about this when they find out._

And, of course: _I fucking love chocolate._

* * *

(He gets an angry text from Aina later, demanding if it was Lio who fed Galo “cho****te”. Lio feels life-threatening energy from the message, but he’s no coward, so he owns up to it. Aina sends a video of what looks like Galo zooming around the Burning Rescue station, talking five times faster than he usually does, and accidentally destroying various items, the most dangerous of which is Lucia’s computer, which he spills coffee on, and results in the video ending with Galo being detained by a giant robot. Ah, that must have been the loud noises he heard outside the office earlier. Galo is still chattering away in the video, so Lio thinks this isn’t the first time these measures were taken. _sry_ , he texts back, not really feeling sry at all. _That’s fucking adorable_ , he thinks, before getting back to paperwork.)

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh, so this is the first time i've completed a fic and also the first time i've published anything on ao3 so please give constructive criticism!! this fic was titled "goddamnfuckthisshit" while it was in progress to give an idea of how i was practically FORCED to write this because the idea wouldn't leave my head. i love dumb galo (count how many times "burning soul" comes up in this fic) but i also headcanon that lio is just as dumb if not dumber and meis and gueira are my favorite boys! also big big thanks to @phichithamsters to making me watch promare with her because it got me writing again after like 3 years (go read her work it's amazing!!) and thank you so much for reading until the end! yell at me on twitter @pouty_yoongles so i finish the other ot3 liogueis wip i have <3


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